Naruto Shippuden: God's Arrival
by MidnaVocaloid02
Summary: The OCs mentioned belong to me and a friend. :) Shadow and Naruto have run off to go and train, readying themselves for the Akatsuki's next plan of attack. They leave behind both family and friends, who start to wonder what the old Toad Sage had told them about Lord Jiraiya's cryptic sign. Not far from the Hidden Leaf, a mysterious group approaches, wanting nothing but death.
1. God's Arrival

Naruto: Shippuden

KakaKiraShad

God's Arrival

"She's gone…" Kira frowned, looking at the burnt house in front of her.

"Yeah…" Kakashi muttered.

Shadow had disappeared and the only thing left of her was her was the house up on the outskirts of the Leaf. Kakashi turned back and looked at the beautiful view of the Leaf Village below. Everything looked peaceful and that was good; less to worry about and more time to plan against the Akatsuki.

Kakashi looked down and remembered something Shadow had said before she left. Her words left them all confused. _i"Do not engage Pain. Even if he's managed to kill Jiraiya-sensei, he's a species of his own origins."/i_ What did that mean? She had only stood up against Pain once and then admitted to running off with one of the Toad Sages on Jiraiya's orders.

"What did she mean, Kakashi?" Kira asked. "When she said to not fight him?"

"I don't know but I don't like the feeling she left behind." He answered. He looked down and sighed. "I wish we were able to ask where she was going before she left the village." Kira wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped an arm around her.

"She'll come back, Kakashi." Kira smiled. "She always does and whenever we need her most too. She's probably training like Naruto."

"Yeah…" Kakashi said, disheartened. His sister has always vanished out of the blue and was always on the move. He liked how she was relentless to give up on something but sometimes he wished she could just sit in one place and relax for a while.

"Oh! Kakashi and Kira." A surprised voice said. They turned to see Yamato hiding something behind his back.

"What're you doing here, Tenzou?" Kakashi asked.

"I just came to see if Shadow really… If she was really gone…" He said, looking down.

"Relax, it's al-"All three turned their head towards the village. A huge explosion of dark clouds and an ominous feeling ebbed towards them. Someone had invaded the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Let's go." Kakashi said and ran off. Kira joined him and Yamato took a moment before running off towards Shadow's burnt home and putting something in the ashes. He mixed it in with the debris and joined everyone.

Somewhere not far away, a pair of clan mates was teasing one another. The boy's pale face turned red as the girl continued to tease him about something. A second later the boy noticed something strange and looked around. He placed his hand over her mouth and put a finger to his lips.

"Listen." He said. She stopped and tried to listen for something. She could sense foreign signals in the village. She looked at her friend.

"Let's go find Hinata, Neji." She said and ran off with him.

The intruders left a wake of destruction and death in their path as they rummaged through the village. Every Shinobi they came across died and had no information they were trying to obtain. All six of them dispersed and started their path to fish out their prey.

One of them, the assumed leader, came across a particular Shinobi. They fought for a moment until the Shinobi was cornered. The intruder took out a strange blade from his cloak and stared the brunette with the odd scar on his face.

"Where is Naruto?" He asked.

"I'm not telling you!" The Shinobi said defiantly, afraid of whatever might happen next.

The intruder raised his arm and swung his odd blade towards the man. The Shinobi closed his eyes, not wanting to see the ending result. He opened his eyes to see a white haired man stopping the odd blade with his hand.

"Make a loud explosion and investigate from the shadows, hmm?" The man said. "Sounds like a certain person I know."

"Kakashi!" The Shinobi exclaimed.

"Get going Iruka." Kakashi said. "Help out Kira and the others."

Iruka took a moment before he ran off. Kakashi stared at the cloaked man for a moment, seeing if he could size up what he was about.

"Where is the Nine-Tails?" He asked. Kakashi was silent. He stared at the man for a moment.

"I would rethink your plan if I were you." He warned. "This village is very different. We'll do everything we can to protect those important to us." He paused. "Even Naruto. We would never sell out a comrade."

Both men stared at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move. Kakashi squeezed the odd blade as hard as he could and eventually broke it. The cloaked man kicked him and Kakashi dodged. He made some hand signs and summoned a mud wall.

Kakashi charged for an attack and saw something in the distance. He paid no attention towards it and concentrated on his target. The electric current in Kakashi's hand cackled like a wildfire. He took his hand back.

"Lightning Blade!" He called out and sent the electrical current towards the cloaked man.

The man jumped back and hit the wall behind him. He looked over to see Kakashi's attack inching closer to him. At the last second he ducked and watched Kakashi's clueless expression.

"Kakashi Hatake the Copy Ninja." He said. "I'm honored to meet you for the last time." Kakashi jumped back and stared at the man. "Where is the Nine-Tails?"

"And why would I tell you?" Kakashi said, charging up for another Lightning Blade.

The man stared at Kakashi as he tore at him. A second later, Kakashi lost his footing and was sent flying back by an invisible force. The wall behind the cloaked man disappeared in a pile of rubble. As Kakashi got to his feet he looked around and noticed that the area around the man was empty compared to all the debris that Kakashi was surrounded by. Kakashi jumped into the clearing and summoned another Lightning Blade, this time it took the form of a dog and went racing towards the cloaked man. But like the last couple of attacks, it was repelled by an invisible force.

A crash came from behind Kakashi and another cloaked man with the same piercings and eyes appeared. He took off his arm and sent a few missiles in his direction. He smirked at the amount of dirt that flew into the air. He readjusted his arm as Kakashi came out of the debris and attacked him with another Lightning Blade. The man ducked and Kakashi was surprised. He remembered something Shadow and the Toad Sage had told them before they left a few days earlier.

_i"Pein and his Six Paths…" Shadow murmured. "It's something else entirely."_

"_Agreed." An old frog nodded. "They're all connected and can see what attack will come first."_

"_Like I said before," Shadow started, "don't, under __**bany/b**__ circumstances engage them first. They killed Sensei and they'll kill anyone else that'll get in their way."_

"_And what if he attacks us first?" Kakashi asked._

"_Do whatever you can to defend yourself and run." Shadow advised. "I know it's not much, since it's coming from someone who hasn't fought them yet, but just by sensing their chakra…" Shadow trailed off. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid."/i_

Kakashi grimaced at the look of things. _iSorry, sis, but it looks like I'm doing the opposite of what you said, again./i_ He thought as he cloaked man jumped out of the way and towards his comrade. Kakashi took a deep breath and looked towards his enemies.

"Wolf Style: Mighty Bark of Fenrir!" There was a rush of wind as a wolf appeared in front of Kakashi and barked at the intruders. His bark echoed throughout the area and sent them flying. Kakashi stared at the wolf and felt a little relief. He looked around and then back at the wolf.

"She'll be here soon, Master Kakashi." The wolf barked. He turned his attention towards the intruders and growled. Kakashi nodded at the wolf and readied himself for another attack.

The second cloaked man took off his cloak and revealed a bulky build with several more piercings. He also had two more pairs of arms and two faces formed where his ears should have been. Kakashi and Timber were taken aback by the sudden discovery and they readied themselves for a hardened attack.

"How long before she gets here?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm not too sure… we left a few minutes ago." He said. "She must still be trying to undergo the procedure."

"What procedure?" Kakashi asked. "And how'd you get here?"

"You'll see when she arrives." Timber barked. "For now, let's see what we can do against these two."

"One last time," The first one said, "where is Nine-Tails?"

Both Kakashi and Timber were silent. The first cloaked man held out his hand and a black orb appeared in his palm. The wind came seemed to pick up and rushed towards him. Both Kakashi and Timber were drawn in towards the first "Pain". Kakashi took out a chain and managed to prevent them both from being drawn in.

Timber growled and barked, sending a burst of wind towards them. But the Pains stood their ground. As both Timber and Kakashi looked over towards the Pains, the second one, with multiple arms, had a bladed tail pointed right at them. Timber gulped and wished Shadow would hurry up.

A blue flame erupted from the outskirts of the Leaf Village, on the ruins of a burnt house. A woman stepped out of the flames and looked around. She gritted her teeth at the site of the invasion below her. The sound of a loud yelp sounded in the distance. She jumped off the cliff and down towards the inner area of the village, finding the source of the howl.

Timber yelped as Kakashi lost his grip on the chain. They both started to drift towards the intruders. Kakashi grabbed Timber and tried to throw him out of the way as the second man's blade ran through him. Timber frowned then watched as an explosion of lightning shocked the Pains and then a pair of fists came down on them. The second man had fell, crushed by the attack of the two men who had crushed him into the ground.

"Nice job." Kakashi said as he came out of the debris. Timber felt relieved as their reinforcements surrounded them.

"One down, Kakashi." Timber grinned.

"And he's not going to be easy." Kakashi warned.

"So if you're here, wolf" A large man started, "where's Shadow?"

"Like I told Master Kakashi, Master Chouza," Timber bowed, "Shadow's on her way here. I think she might even be in the village all ready."

The cloaked man, Pain, started towards them. They all got into their stances and readied themselves for an attack. An array of ninja tools and jutsu flew towards him. Pain blew them away with a single chant and left another giant puff of dirt into the air. Kakashi and Timber, with their friends, threw knives towards him. One of the knives had a smoke bomb attached to it and gave them time to hide out and plan their next attack carefully. The four of them started to plan their next move against Pain. Kakashi looked at Timber and the Akimichi clan members and they all nodded in response.

Pain looked around in confusion. Most of his enemies were now gone and there was only a handful left. As he walked around they smoky area, Kakashi jumped from out of the ground, his kunai knife aimed towards Pain, and like before he was repelled. Kakashi grimaced at the possibility that Pain could kill him when the Chouza and his son appeared, looking like human boulders, and came barreling towards him. He instantly repelled them but didn't see Chouza pulling a chain from the ground and trapping Pain.

"Lightning Style: Second Strike!" A voice hollered from above. Kakashi recognized the cue and used his Lightning Blade to strike Pain. A woman appeared with another variation of the Lightning Blade. Both their attacks hit the other Pain that fell earlier. The explosion of the second Pain's body sent all the attackers back.

Kakashi was stuck between broken cement from the ground. He looked around and saw Timber and the Akimichi family defeated. He looked over to see the woman struggling to stand up. He looked up towards the cloaked man and saw familiar silver hair.

"Sorry, Pain, but I'm not letting you kill my little brother." The woman said. "Not now, not ever."

"Shadow Hachia…" Pain muttered. "The Fake Jinchuuriki host."

"And don't you forget it!" Shadow retorted. She howled and a blue circle of fire surrounded her. "GO!" She ordered, pointing at Pain.

The blue flames swirled for a moment then formed into several wolves. They all growled at Pain and ran toward him. Pain repelled them but didn't see Shadow's next attack. She ran at him with a flaming ball of fire.

"Flaming Rasengan!" Shadow hollered and sent it flying towards Pain. He dodged it and pushed her back. Shadow rebounded on a wall of debris and stared at her enemy.

"He's as tough as he looks…" Shadow frowned. She looked over to Kakashi and whistled. Timber appeared at her side.

"Let's go!" Shadow called. "Hachia Style: Ultimate Fang!" Shadow and Timber ran towards Pain and transformed into a pair of tornadoes that circled on another. Pain pulled up his invisible barrier but was unable to let their attack subside as they continued. He eventually withdrew his barrier and quit the field.

"You finally came." Kakashi said hoarsely. Shadow jumped in surprise and then smiled.

"You ass." She sighed. "Don't scare me like that."

"Choji…" He muttered. Shadow looked over to see the younger Akimichi grieving over his father, Chouza.

"Don't worry, I'll find Tsunade and we'll make sure those bastard will regret attacking us." Shadow promised.

"Such big words for a dead woman…" A voice said. Both Shadow and Choji looked over to see the second Pain preparing for another attack before he died.

"Choji run!" Shadow hollered. "Kakashi… tell the old man that he still hasn't gotten his way, all right?" Shadow said, standing up.

"And tell Ki-"

"I ain't telling her anything." Shadow said. "You're going to survive this and that's that. Too many Shinobi have died and I'm not letting Pain have my little brother's life too! I'll haunt you back into existence if I have to."

"Now there's something I'd like to see." Kakashi laughed hoarsely. Shadow bit her lip and grabbed Choji.

"Come on, to Lady Tsunade you go." She grinned. "I'll be right behind ya."

"Yes Sensei!" Choji nodded. Choji started to run off and Shadow followed after him. She knew Kakashi would make sure he'd be all right and took a detour towards another road leading to the Hokage's Mansion.

"Kira-sensei! Behind you!" A girl with dark hair said. She jumped past Kira and swiped the man behind her away.

"Gentle Fist: Lion Barrage!" She hollered and started to attack the man in front of her with a series of jabs. The man was blown away and she took her offensive stance next to Kira.

"Saiya!" Kira exclaimed. "You're all right."

"Neji made sure of that." Saiya said. "I was on my way to ask the Lady Hokage for some help. The Anbu members with us are badly wounded."

"That's not good." Kira frowned. They readied themselves for another attack when a collision of fire related attacks barraged the enemy in front of them. Both Saiya and Kira smiled in relief.

"Sensei!" Saiya cheered.

"Shadow!" Kira smiled.

"Long time no see." Shadow grinned. Kira looked at Shadow's appearance carefully. She looked like she'd change so much over the past couple of days. Her hair was longer and tied up and even her eyes were different.

"You have Archena now?" Kira asked.

"You better believe it." Shadow nodded. "It was all thanks to Pain too."

"Where are you off to?" Saiya asked.

"To Lady Tsunade." Shadow said. "Pain's on his way there." Timber joined her side and growled at the cloaked man on the ground.

"And let's get moving, hmm? Saiya, go and help out Choji." Shadow ordered. "He'll need help getting his father back to the hospital."

"Yes sensei." Saiya nodded. "Where is he?"

"Should be over by the Hokage's Mansion by now." Shadow said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kira asked.

The group dispersed and started to run off towards the Hokage's Mansion. Saiya noticed Choji nearby and ran off with him, leaving Kira and Shadow. Kira looked at Shadow carefully and wondered how she was able to change so much for a short period of time. She wasn't even wearing her usual blue shirt.

"So is Naruto still safe?" Shadow asked.

"You're the only one to return." Kira said.

"Let's see how long we can prolong Pain's destruction until he arrives." Shadow said.

"He's coming?" Kira asked.

"This is his home after all." Shadow said. "I'd be disappointed if he didn't show up."

The pair saw a small group of people in the center of a large roof. As they neared the Hokage's Mansion, Kira stopped and got Shadow's attention.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Have you seen Kakashi?" She asked. Shadow shook her head.

"No. Timber said he was all right though." Shadow lied. Timber looked up at her in surprise but received a kick as Shadow took off again. Kira sighed in relief, glad to know that Kakashi was all right.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shadow called out. The Anbu guard around her got to their feet at the sight of the group. They relaxed and went back to concentrating on the markings below their feet.

"Shadow?" The blonde haired woman said with a surprised tone. "You're back. Did you bring any help with you?"

"Nothing but a small group of soldiers." Shadow shrugged. "Three of them are by the hospital helping the injured and the other is helping the others fight."

"Lady Shadow!" An Anbu member hollered. Shadow looked towards a cloaked man and recognized him easily, even with a mask. She went to go see what it was he needed. A moment later Pain appeared behind them. Shadow, Kira, and the Anbu made a formation around Tsunade.

"Where is Nine-Tails?" He asked again.

"Like we'd tell you!" Shadow barked. "Anbu! Formation Alpha!" The masked men all made quick hand signs and summoned a series of creatures that all attacked Pain. Shadow and Timber ran at him, getting ready for their usual attack.

"Fire Style: Flaming Fangs!" Shadow said as she and Timber turned into flaming tornadoes that torpedoed towards Pain.

He managed to repel the creatures but felt the attack of both Shadow and Timber. Instead of going off the building they redirected their energy from going forward to moving upwards and were able to get him airborne. As both Shadow's and Timber's attack started to wane, the Anbu and Kira all got together and got ready for another attack.

"Fire Style: Grand Fireball!" They said. They all took a deep breath and blew raging flames into the air. Both Shadow and Timber fell towards the fire, trying to get Pain's attention. As they fell closer to the flames, Shadow's hands started to glow with a blue aura. She absorbed the flames and chanted her next attack with Kira.

"Fire Style: Twin Dragon Bombs!" They both blew ferocious flames towards Pain. He repelled them with ease and they were all at a standstill again.

"You can your brother are two of a kind." Pain said in amazement.

"Glad you think so." Shadow said. "But you're forgetting the third member of our team. Kira's pretty powerful too." Shadow weighed her options carefully before deciding whether to attack him again or retreat. She grimaced and closed her eyes.

"Everyone, Operation #3." Shadow said after a few minutes.

"But we ca-"

"Just go." Shadow said, looking up towards Pain. "Kira and I know how to fight."

"Shadow? What's Operation #3?" Tsunade asked.

The Anbu members regretfully looked over at Shadow and then at each other. They nodded in unison before grabbing Tsunade and running off. The Hokage didn't like what Shadow had in mind but couldn't stop them. Shadow had thought through the plan even before the Hokage knew about it, they had special gloves on to restrain the Hokage's super strength from being used on them. She grimaced and looked at Shadow and Kira.

"You two better live!" She hollered.

"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Shadow yelled back. She looked over to Kira.

"All right, sis." She grinned. "Let's give it our all, eh?" As the two got ready for whatever attack Pain had in mind, he had disappeared. They panicked and tried to search for him. Kira closed her blue eyes and opened them; they had transformed into a pair of white ones with a strange red glow. She looked around and didn't see anything around the village. She looked up and saw a faint red figure.

"Up there!" Kira said, pointing towards the sky. "It's faint but he's there."

"What's he doing…?" Shadow muttered. She tried to remember the differences between the Six Pains. This one could control the push and pull of gravity, or so Timber had said. So if he could do that… then maybe… Shadow straightened up and looked at the faint figure in shock.

"He wouldn't…" Shadow said. But she had a feeling he would. "Hold on Kira, this might get a little hot." Shadow started making hand signs again.

"Phoenix Style: Phoenix Ashes!" She punched the ground and a puff of ashes surrounded them, making them cough. As they looked up to see what Pain was going to do, a mighty force crushed them into the building and pushed them back towards the outskirts of the village. A few moments later, Shadow and Kira emerged from the debris' coughing as they straightened themselves out.

"Lucky for your Phoenix, huh?" Kira smiled.

"Yeah but I think we might be in trouble next time we decide to play chicken with this guy." Shadow scoffed.

Shadow and Kira looked around and wondered where they were. Everything was blown away and left in pieces. The only thing that they left behind was a giant crater. As they realized that what was around them was a destroyed version of the Hidden Leaf Village, anger swelled within them. Kira looked towards the center of the crater.

"Pain's in the center of it." She said.

"Then let's show him what happens when he messes with the Hidden Leaf." Shadow said.

They took off towards the center of the crater where Pain was. Shadow felt her rage starting to swell and wondered how long before Pain's reign of terror was over. Kira was wondering if Kakashi had survived the blast radius of this Pain's attack. She looked over to Shadow and decided against asking. Timber held his breath as he followed the girls. He looked up to see how far they were from Pain and swallowed the last of his worries as they closed in on their final destination.

Saiya moved the rubble over her out of the way. A couple of Shinobi came by to help her to her feet. She looked around and gasped at the sight of the village. A few people murmured about seeing three Shinobi heading for the center of the Village.

"Sensei… be careful…" She muttered as she started to help out the villagers.


	2. Fallen Wolves

Naruto: Shippuden

KakaKiraShad

Fallen Wolves

"Pain…" Shadow said. "You'll pay for what you did to the Village! How can you call yourself Jiraiya-sensei's student and do this?!"

"You are ignorant." He said. "As is the rest of the world. This world is ignorant to the pain and death that occurs. You shall be the martyr; you will know pain."

"And you'll know fear." Shadow growled. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, her pupils had taken the shape of a flame and her blue eyes hinted at a possible danger. Kira punched her hand and readied herself for an attack.

"Fire Style: Disciples of the Sun God!" Shadow chanted.

"Summoning Jutsu: Katen!" Kira chanted.

Shadow punched the ground and a blue flame circled her. A large pack of fiery blue wolves appeared and growled at Pain. Kira's Summoning technique made a large white wolf appear. They all howled towards the skies and ran towards Pain. Shadow's wolves attacked in repeated patterns, trying to get Pain to open his weak spot. Once he pushed them away, Katen jumped on him. Pain turned into smoke and confused the wolves. They looked around wildly and couldn't find him until Pain pushed them into the ground from above.

"Phoenix Style: Blistering Flames!" Shadow cried out.

She grabbed a few tools and started to throw the flaming instruments at Pain. He deflected and dodged them all. He pushed Shadow away from Kira's side and went after her. Kira's arms glowed with a blue aura and she swung back one of her arms. She swung at Pain's face and was blown away like Shadow. Timber ran at him as soon as he put his hand down and bit him as hard as he could. As Pain was distracted by Timber, this gave time for both Shadow and Kira to dish out their powerful attacks.

Shadow lunged at Pain with a furious flame orb, sending him spiraling into the ground. She and Timber continued a relentless assault as they gave Kira some time to concentrate for her next attack.

"Fire Style: Dragon's Prison!" Kira cried out. Both Shadow and Timber jumped away from Pain and a giant flaming cage surrounded him. The cage was reinforced by several metal barriers and became a furnace.

"Now we got him." Shadow grinned.

"No one can survive that." Kira panted.

But their victory was short-lived; another Pain appeared and caught them off-guard. He sent them flying across the empty field and into the remnants of the village. As they got to their feet another pair of Pains attacked them. Shadow retaliated by using her Flaming Rasengan against them, not that it did much damage but it stopped their relentless assault. Shadow looked around and assessed the situation a little bit.

"Timber." Shadow said, struggling to stay on her feet. "Take Kira and go."

"But what about you?" He asked.

"I'll go into Sage Mode and try to fight him off." Shadow said.

"We can't leave you by yourself!" Timber fought back.

"And I'm not letting you two die here." Shadow snapped. "Now take her and go. Find Saiya at least…"

Timber frowned and watched as his master slowly got to her feet and faced their enemies. He couldn't let Shadow fight them alone… not like Master Jiraiya did. He swallowed his pride, turning into his human form, and ran over to Kira. He grabbed her ran towards the Hidden Leaf, not looking back.

Shadow looked up to see the four Pains left and grimaced. She took a deep breath to relax and ran towards them. A burst of flames erupted from the Dragon's Prison and the first Pain rose towards the skies, unscathed and angry as ever.

"What?" Shadow stammered. "No one can escape from that!"

The Pain pulled her towards him and let his other forms fight her. Shadow used her Archena to predict a couple of their attacks. She countered the best she could and tried to distance herself from them. One of them knocked her off balance towards the broken prison. She panicked as she felt herself being thrown into the air. Images of what the Pains did to Jiraiya came to mind and a hard lump trapped itself in her throat.

"You shall feel Pain." He said as watched Shadow rise higher towards the sky.

_iLike hell I'm going to let it end here!/i_ She growled. Shadow sighed and let herself fall limp. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

As the ascent into the air came to a stop, Shadow felt lifeless. She knew she didn't have much time before Pain let her fall to her death. And just like that, the gravity that held her up let go of her. She felt like a leaf suspended in the air and felt the wind's furious bites as she fell with a rapid speed. A rush of dirt flew into the air. The Pains watched patiently as it subsided and Shadow stood unscathed.

"Surprised?" Shadow asked. "You shouldn't be, I'm Jiraiya's student after all and the ex-head of the Anbu division in the Hidden Leaf."

Shadow howled, letting her wolfish features take in the sight around her. She stared at Pain held out her hand. A ball of blue energy swirled around her, making everything move around her. A blue flame emerged from the wind, making the blue orb ominous. The five Pains stared her down.

"This is for all the people you've killed," Shadow started, "for Jiraiya-sensei and Kakashi. I won't let you destroy the Leaf!"

And with that she set off towards them. She summoned clones to deal with any of the ones that tried to attack her. She took out a knife from her pouch and let all the wild energy absorb and when she tossed it to her right palm.

"Wolf Sage Jutsu: Ultimate Fire Bomb!" Shadow called out as she managed to get near Pain. She grabbed him before he could push her away and threw him to the ground. With her knife in hand, she twirled it then threw it towards one of the other Pains.

The explosion made a dent in the crater and left a trail of smoke with it. Shadow looked at the smoke from a safe distance and smirked.

"That's gotta've hit one of them." She said. And she was right; four of the Pains emerged and looked at Shadow. "Looks like I really did it now."

They all descended towards her in a fury. She tried to fend off their attacks but had used too much of her energy to do any counterattacks. The attacks she did dodge made her use more of her energy. One of them grabbed her from behind. Shadow looked up to see one of them summoning a three headed dog.

"Copycat much?" She frowned as the beast ran towards her. "Well I have a three headed dog of my own!" Shadow tried to concentrate on a transformation jutsu but nothing happened. In fact, she looked down and noticed her tail had disappeared. She looked up towards the rampaging beast and felt the man behind her loosen his grip.

The dog tossed her up in the air and waited patiently for her to come back down. The gravity version of Pain stopped her in midair and tossed her across the field.

She felt like she'd been hit with a ton of bricks. Shadow looked up to see the Pains coming towards her like Death. She twitched a little and looked over towards one of the ends of the crater. She saw a faint image of frogs and slowly moved her hand towards them.

"Sen… sei…" She muttered weakly. The Pains looked over and saw their real prey, the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriku. The other five Pains disappeared until the gravity one remained. He took out his odd blade and ran it through Shadow.

"Timber!" Kira struggled. "Let me down! Shadow needs our help!"

"I'm sorry, Lady Kira," Timber frowned, "but I promised Shadow I wouldn't let you get hurt."

There was a loud tremor that made them stop. They looked back at the crater and saw a group of frogs. They looked at one another and smiled.

"Naruto." They said in unison.


	3. The Lone Wolf

KakaKira

The Lone Wolf

"Timber!" Kira struggled. "Let me down! Shadow needs our help!"

"I'm sorry, Lady Kira," Timber frowned, "but I promised Shadow I wouldn't let you get hurt."

Loud explosions and ripples of flames cut through the air as they escaped the terrors behind them. Kira felt tears welling up as she took in the destruction around them. She faintly remembered what Shadow had told her about Kakashi and wondered if it were true now.

Kira looked back and saw blue flames dancing around what remained of the Leaf Village. Timber kept his attention set ahead of him. His heart aching as he unwillingly left his master's side once more. Pain's attack made the whole village look like a wasteland.

"Timber?" Kira started. "Can we find Kakashi?"

"Y-you what?" Timber stammered.

"I want to find Kakashi." She repeated. She stared into Timber's forest colored eyes. He looked away and carefully looked around.

"A-all right." He said. "But it might take a while before we can find him through all this."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Kira smiled. "Why would Shadow lie?"

"Yeah…" Timber frowned.

The pair jumped towards the hospital, or what remained of it, and looked around. Timber warily followed Kira into the building where they found several medics running around. The whole place looked like Hell really did come onto Earth; bodies lie everywhere and there were so few of the staff that most couldn't get to some of them.

"Sensei?" A pink haired girl jumped.

"Sakura!" Kira grinned. "Is Kakashi here?"

"I don't think so." Sakura said, looking around the chaos. "He's probably somewhere in the village. You'd have a better time asking Hinata or Saiya. They're healing people who are too injured to move a little ways from here."

"Thank you Sakura." Kira said and ran out.

"Timber, what's going on?" Sakura asked. "Is Kakashi-sensei…?"

"I'd get back to work, Sakura." Timber said. "These people need your help."

~~Near the Hospital~~

"I think I got most of everyone here, Hinata." A dark haired girl called out.

"A-all right." Hinata said nervously as she helped out.

Both the girls were hard at work as they attempted to heal the injured fighters around them. Most were ready to be transported to the Hospital but others were crushed under the rubble and couldn't move. And this made things a little more difficult. A few more people groaned in pain as Saiya finished wrapping a bandage around a Chunin's leg.

"Just rest for a while, all right?" Saiya smiled sweetly before running off. She wiped her forehead when she looked over to see Kira and Timber running towards her.

"Kira-sensei and Timber?" She sighed.

"Saiya, I need your help." Kira said. "Can you help us find Kakashi?"

"But I have to stay here and help out." Saiya said. "Hinata and Ino can't do it by themselves."

"Then help us find him with your Byakugan." Timber said.

"All right…" Saiya said. She turned around and searched the area. A few minutes passed and she looked at them. "He's over there; just keep going north and you'll find him."

"Thank you, Saiya!" Kira said and ran off with Timber.

As the pair neared Kakashi's location, Timber started to feel a little anxious. He could remember Kakashi and Pain's fight and didn't want to see the remnants of it again. Kira on the other hand, was anxious to see if Kakashi was all right. When they arrived, Kira looked around the rubble anxiously. The smile on her face glowed expectantly as she searched for her silver haired hero.

"Timber?" She asked. "Do you see him?"

"No…" Timber murmured as he looked around, his heart heavy with what Kira might find. "Maybe we should look around?"

"Great idea!" She smiled and ran off into a pile of rubble. Timber frowned and he started to wonder what would happen if she found him. He shook his head and ran over to go and search for Kakashi.

Kira couldn't wait to see Kakashi, even if he was hurt from the rubble. Maybe he wasn't even all that badly wounded. She used an Earth Jutsu she learned from Shadow and Kakashi to get rid of some of the rubble. She looked over to see Timber trying to push away some of rubble by hand. He was worn out after lifting some of the bigger chunks first.

"You all right?" She asked.

"Just a little tired." He yawned. Timber pushed back a few more heavy pieces of rubble and plopped onto the ground. He looked to see what he found and his head lowered; like a dog does when it knows something sad just happened.

"What did you find?" Kira asked when she approached him. She looked down to see familiar silver hair. Her smile fell and she dropped to her knees.

"K-kakashi?" She stammered as she carefully lifted his head and saw his closed eyes. She looked over at Timber. He was looking at the ground between his feet, trying not to look at her saddened expression.

Kira started to whimper as she slowly began to take in what happened. "Shadow did lie… but why? Why would she lie about her own brother?" were the thoughts that traveled through her mind. She got to her feet and started to remove the rubble around him. Timber helped her out and after a while they managed to get him out. Timber laid Kakashi on his back.

They were both startled by flames and creatures that were battling one another in the center of the Leaf. Timber fidgeted for a moment and then calmed down as he looked over at Kira. He got to his feet and walked off a little ways to give Kira some time alone.

Kira was speechless as she looked at Kakashi. She wished she could've been fighting with him. Tears started to well up as she held Kakashi's hand.

~~Kakashi's Heaven~~

"So that's all that's happened?" A man laughed.

"Yeah." Another nodded. He subconsciously rubbed his cheek, as if something had landed on it.

"So, any girlfriends?" The man teased.

"Really?" The other sighed. "This is the first time we meet after the 3rd Ninja War and you're asking me if I have a girlfriend? Typical dad."

"Hey! I'm allowed to know if my own son's gotten anyone's attention." Kakashi's dad groaned. "Besides, it's not like your sister will tell me."

"She's not here, and by her luck, won't be for a while." Kakashi said.

"If you say so…" His dad muttered. "So? Do you or don't you?"

"Yes I do." Kakashi sighed. "You saw her when Shadow and I were little. Bright red hair and could use fire jutsu like Shadow. She was there for the Chunin Exams then."

"Oh! Kira hmm?" His dad said. "I bet she's grown into a fine young lady; to catch your eye at least. Quite literally."

Kakashi smacked his palm into his face as his dad laughed at his own joke. He wondered where Shadow got her corny humor from, well here it is. He rubbed his hand against his side, as if trying to wipe something off it.

"So?" His dad edged. "What's she like?"

"Well…" Kakashi looked down at his hands as he thought about Kira. His dad stared at him as Kakashi was lost in thought. He was so proud at what his son had become. A smile crossed his lips as Kakashi looked up at him.

"So you really are going senile, eh?" Kakashi joked.

"Glad both you and your sister got my humor." His dad laughed. Kakashi scowled at him and his dad waved it off. "So… Kira?"

"Right… well…" Kakashi stammered. "She's really nice and supportive. Nothing gets past her and all of us; her, me, and Shadow, all get along great. We even became an infamous group to the other nations." He paused again. "I really admire her. She helps keep me calm whenever I feel distressed or sad…" His voice trailed off as he went back into his thoughts.

Kakashi's dad was silent for a moment. He was happy that there was someone in Kakashi's life that could keep him happy and under control. He raised a brow when Kakashi started to glow.

"Looks like your tale isn't over yet." He grinned. "Hopefully both… all three of you can tell me when it is, yeah?"

Kakashi looked around. He was confused about what was happening and what his dad was telling him. He blinked and awoke to see the cloudy skies above him. He carefully tried to sit up and all the pain that struck him before he "slept" came at him like a ton of bricks. Everywhere ached; his arms, legs, body, and head. He shook his head and noticed a familiar red head next to him.

"Kira?" He muttered. Kira looked over at him, her face tear stained and sullen but the moment her blue eyes rested on him, her face lightened up. She wrapped her arms around Kakashi, making him groan and fall back.

"I knew Shadow was lying." She said.

"I was lying?" A girl groaned. Kira and Kakashi looked over to see Shadow's beaten face as she limped over to them; Timber and Yamato helping her as they walked. Both Timber and Yamato left the trio alone as they had their little reunion.


	4. Shadow's Confession

5. Seeking Solace

Shadow's Confessions

_i"Fire Style: Dragon's Prison!" Kira cried out. Both Shadow and Timber jumped away from Pain and a giant flaming cage surrounded him. The cage was reinforced by several metal barriers and became a furnace._

"_Now we got him." Shadow grinned._

"_No one can survive that." Kira panted._

_But their victory was short-lived; another Pain appeared and caught them off-guard. He sent them flying across the empty field and into the remnants of the village. As they got to their feet another pair of Pains attacked them. Shadow retaliated by using her Flaming Rasengan against them, not that it did much damage but it stopped their relentless assault. Shadow looked around and assessed the situation a little bit._

"_Timber." Shadow said, struggling to stay on her feet. "Take Kira and go."_

"_But what about you?" He asked._

"_I'll go into Sage Mode and try to fight him off." Shadow said._

"_We can't leave you by yourself!" Timber fought back._

"_And I'm not letting you two die here." Shadow snapped. "Now take her and go. Find Saiya at least…"_

_Timber frowned and watched as his master slowly got to her feet and faced their enemies. He couldn't let Shadow fight them alone… not like Master Jiraiya did. He swallowed his pride, turning into his human form, and ran over to Kira. He grabbed her ran towards the Hidden Leaf, not looking back._

_Shadow looked up to see the four Pains left and grimaced. She took a deep breath to relax and ran towards them. A burst of flames erupted from the Dragon's Prison and the first Pain rose towards the skies, unscathed and angry as ever._

"_What?" Shadow stammered. "No one can escape from that!"_

_The Pain pulled her towards him and let his other forms fight her. Shadow used her Archena to predict a couple of their attacks. She countered the best she could and tried to distance herself from them. One of them knocked her off balance towards the broken prison. She panicked as she felt herself being thrown into the air. Images of what the Pains did to Jiraiya came to mind and a hard lump trapped itself in her throat._

"_You shall feel Pain." He said as watched Shadow rise higher towards the sky./i_

"Ah!" Shadow gasped as she sat up on her bed. Her silvery hair was matted against her face as sweat rolled down her tanned cheeks. She swallowed down the lump in her throat and looked around.

"Where am I?" She murmured.

The place around her left a peaceful, yet ghostly, feeling. She knew she was in the Konoha Hospital, because of the clean beds and needles everywhere, but something was… off. Shadow couldn't smell a single thing and she guessed that the staff wasn't here… but where could they be? She looked at herself and was surprised to see that there weren't any tears in her clothes. Her black jeans weren't torn up and neither was her black sleeveless shirt. She couldn't find a single cut on her bare arms and all the wounds that she gained trying to protect the Leaf from Pain's attack weren't there. She poked the middle of her chest, where Pain had struck her, and winced from the slight pain.

"Looks like I really did die, eh?" Shadow sighed.

She got up from her bed and walked towards the door out of the room. When she opened it, she found herself outside the hospital. Bewildered, Shadow decided not to question it and just started to look around for anything, or anyone, that was here. The wind picked up and leaves flew from the entrance of the village towards the Hokage Monument. She could make out a figure but she wasn't sure who or what it was.

Shadow shrugged and started towards it. As she dashed through the empty streets of Konoha, everything seemed to meld together. She looked to her left and right and saw blurs of the Konoha she was in and the other that was wrecked and destroyed. Screams of terror ran through her ears and chills ran down her spine as she felt another push from the wind propel her forward.

"Guess this is when Pain used that gravity jutsu of his…" Shadow murmured as she remembered her and Kira fighting Pain after he demolished the whole village.

Her heart started to race and another lump was in her throat. The faces of the Hokages were just up ahead and her vision was starting to blur. Shadow fell to her knees and tried to calm down as the waves of pain came to her. She held her head, like a kid would when they're trying to make a headache go away. She wanted it to end but wasn't sure where it was coming from as she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

"Hey, you okay?" A man asked. Shadow winced and looked up to see a familiar face. He had white spikey hair that was tied up, two red marks running down his cheeks, and a dumb smile on his face. She also noticed he was wearing the same clothes he always had.

"Hey Old Man." Shadow smiled. "You really need to find a new wardrobe."

"That's not a nice thing to say to your teacher." Jiraiya groaned as he helped her to her feet.

"You'll live." She chuckled.

"So this isn't where I'd expect to find you… or at least so soon." Jiraiya sighed.

"Yeah well, according to Pain, I take after you too much." Shadow retorted. "I mean you know anyone else dumb enough to dive headfirst into that mess?"

"You would and so would a certain boy." He said.

"Naruto's his own beast." Shadow said. "Anyways, notice anything odd about me?" Jiraiya looked at Shadow carefully and shook his head.

"You gained weight again. What have I told you about that sake and barbeque?" Jiraiya scolded.

"I didn't!" She paused for a moment. "…Did I really?" Shadow frowned as she looked at her stomach.

"No you didn't." Jiraiya laughed.

"You ass!" Shadow growled. "That's not what I meant! Was there anything at all that I didn't have the last time we saw each other?!" Jiraiya looked at Shadow one more time and tried to figure it out and shrugged it defeat.

"Couldn't be those blue eyes of yours." He laughed.

"And you're the blame for 'em too." Shadow laughed.

The pair looked around the ghostly village. Everything looked eerie but also peaceful. Shadow couldn't believe how calm the whole place looked, despite it being deserted. Shadow started to wonder if all of the people who died today would join her in this eerie place and then she remembered Kakashi.

"Hey, my brother isn't going to be here… is he?" Shadow asked, kind of afraid to hear what he was going to say.

"I don't think so… why?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well… Pain attacked the village and well… shit's hitting the fan right now." Shadow sighed.

"How's Tsunade?" He asked.

"Last I checked I left her at the Hokage Mansion with an Anbu squad." She said. "I'm not sure if she'll survive this onslaught with Katsuya."

"But she'll live. Tsunade's not going down that easily." Jiraiya laughed.

"Ain't that the truth?" Shadow said.

The pair looked around for a moment before setting off somewhere else. Shadow wasn't sure what was going on but she was kind of glad to see her sensei again. She hated how he just forced her and the toad to run off back to the Leaf Village. Shadow coughed and whipped the blood from her face.

"Still coughing?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah well no one's perfect, Old Man." Shadow jabbed.

"You're right! I'm perfect!" He grinned widely.

"Well, we're doomed then." Shadow sighed dramatically.

"You know, you're easier to get along with now than you were when you were a bratty kid." Jiraiya said.

"Oh gee, thanks." Shadow frowned.

"I mean it! You were evil when you were a kid!" He said.

"And you were the worst person in the world!" She retorted. "Who takes someone for a few years of training the _iDAY/i_ before the Chunin Exams finals start?!"

"Well it was worth it, I mean look where you ended up." Jiraiya smiled, with pride.

"Oh shut it." Shadow groaned.

"So still want to learn the Rasengan?" Jiraiya asked.

"How many times do I need to tell you to stop it?" Shadow growled.

"Oh come on! You gotta admit that whole exchange was funny." Jiraiya laughed. "I mean you were trying so hard _inot/i_ to learn it and then you have Naruto trying everything _ito/i_ learn it!"

"I still think it's stupid." Shadow said.

"Says the girl who's recognized for using a 'flaming ball of chakra'." Jiraiya jabbed.

"Eh." Shadow shrugged. "It is what it is."

Shadow and Jiraiya arrived at the Hokage Monument and looked at it for a while before realizing they were both sitting on the Fourth Hokage's head. Shadow looked around for a moment.

"You sure we're not in a bizarre dream…?" She asked. "Oh, right why would you be in my dreams?" Shadow laughed.

"Thanks." Jiraiya sighed. Shadow elbowed him and looked at the village below.

"You know, if it weren't for the fact that we're both just here in this creepy place, I'd say the view looks beautiful." She said. "Oh, where are we by the way?"

"Konoha…?" Jiraiya said, giving Shadow a weird look.

"No! I mean why do we jump from place to place and not know how we got here?" She asked.

"You've never read story books have you?" He asked.

"Of course I did!" She growled.

"Any of them talk about a certain place called 'Limbo'?" He asked.

"Limbo?" Shadow asked.

"You seriously don't know about that?" He groaned.

"I never said I was a genius!" Shadow barked. "It was just implied…"

"Oh, that makes me feel better." Jiraiya said and scratched his head as he thought of how to explain it.

_i'Guess I'm never too old to learn new tricks…' Shadow thought to herself./i_

"It's basically 'a place in between'. Legends say it's supposed to be the final destination before determining where you should go to either Heaven or Hell." Jiraiya said.

"With the crap I've done over the years, I think it'd be an easy decision." Shadow sighed.

Shadow let Jiraiya ramble on about something as she started to get lost in her thoughts. She was thinking about some of things she did in her life. She wasn't proud of a lot of them and she was proud of so few. She sighed as Itachi came to mind. She looked at the village again, still paying Jiraiya no attention.

_i'Itachi… Did he ever…?'/i_ Shadow began to wonder. _i'I mean he did help me out when we were in the Anbu and then after he left and on several missions… Maybe it's a friendship thing?'/i_ Shadow sighed at the thought. _i'Maybe…'/i_ She started to think about a few missions they were on together and then the last time she saw him before Naruto came back to Konoha.

"And then Tsunade hit me on the head! I mean you'd think she'd forgive me for returning the girl her money." Jiraiya sighed, rubbing his head. He looked at Shadow and nudged her.

"You awake?" He asked.

"Just… thinking is all." She replied.

"What about?" He asked. "Life?"

"Kind of…" She said. "I'm just thinking about what I've done is all."

"You'll keep doing great things, kid." Jiraiya said.

"Sure, me and my undead form shall rule the world!" Shadow said triumphantly and then she frowned just as quick. "But I'm just thinking of the one person I was chasing my whole life."

"Itachi?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm not sure he ever actually cared…" Shadow murmured. "I mean he's helped me with some of my Anbu missions and saved me a couple of times from getting myself killed but he also used his Sharingan a few times too."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't care." Jiraiya said.

"I know but just thinking about it over all, is what I'm getting at." Shadow said. "I think we've just been friends our whole lives is all… and after Tsunade agreed to be Hokage, I've been thinking of why I couldn't stop chasing him…"

Jiraiya looked at Shadow's sad expression and rubbed his head again. He wasn't quite sure what to do or how to encourage his student. He sighed and looked out to the village.

"Well… just think of it this way, when you go back to the others just take another look around." Jiraiya said.

"Yeah, I guess… wait a minute." Shadow looked over at him. "What do you mean 'when I get back'?" Jiraiya looked at her hand and she did the same. It was transparent and before she could say anything she heard a jutsu being used.

"Rinne… ten… sei?" Shadow murmured.

"Well, I hope to see you again but not too soon." Jiraiya said as Shadow disappeared.

Shadow groaned in pain as she started to wake up. She looked around and saw her three students all sitting around her. There was boy was short messy brown hair that was tied up into a small knot that sat on his neck, he had a red Chinese attire on with the left sleeve torn off; the boy next to him had long, dark green hair that was tied back and resting on his back, he wore a gray attire with a green haori; and there was a girl next to Shadow, she had long, black hair that was braided back and part of her bangs covered her right eye, she had on a purple colored outfit with a lighter purple sash around her waist.

"Saiya?" Shadow murmured as she looked at the purple robed girl.

"I told you she'd say her name!" The red boy said.

"Oh shut up!" The green one said. "She'd say her name because Saiya's healing her!"

"Tsuru! Kiku! Shut up!" Saiya scolded. "Sensei's trying to wake up and it's hard to concentrate!"

Shadow sat up only to be thrown back down when the boys hugged her. Shadow was squirming under their weight and having a hard time breathing as they didn't let up. Saiya tapped their shoulders and they both fell over, groaning in pain. Saiya helped Shadow to her feet.

"Thanks Saiya." Shadow smiled.

"No problem, sensei." Saiya grinned. "If you're looking for Kira and Kakashi sensei, they're over there."

Saiya pointed to a pile of rubble that was thrown in every which direction but Shadow kept her gaze on a red haired woman holding a silver haired man in her arms, Timber was next to them. Shadow went over towards them and helped Kakashi to his feet as the girls guided him to the hospital.

"Shadow!" Kira smiled.

"Yep. Now let's get going, huh?" Shadow grinned.

A couple days passed and Shadow was on her regular schedule again as she left the hospital. Shadow stretched and started looking around the makeshift construction going on in the village. She saw that Guy was doing everything in his power to help everyone out.

"Guy never takes a break…" Shadow sighed as she saw him doing push-ups and hammering things into place almost all that the same time.

"Makes my body hurt just looking at him." Shadow groaned as she quickly left. Shadow started to walk around aimlessly and hoped Guy didn't see her.

"Shadow!" Someone said. Shadow was afraid it might've been Guy but turned around to see Yamato.

"Hey Yamato." Shadow said.

"Are you all right?" He asked. "You look like you've seen something bad."

"Does Guy count?" She asked.

"I'd say so." He laughed.

Shadow looked around as Yamato started talking about this and that. Shadow looked around and remembered something Jiraiya said.

_i"Well… just think of it this way, when you go back to the others just take another look around."/i_

So she did and saw Yamato. She started laughing and got a concerned look from Yamato.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned that she might need to go back to the hospital.

"It's nothing. I just… Mind if we talk?" Shadow smiled.


End file.
